March 7th

[haolehothead]

Danny feels ridiculous. Genuinely and truly, he doesn't know that he's ever felt like more of a schmuck in his entire life, feeling as nervous as he does. He's in the main room of the hut, watching sports like something might actually change in the outcome of his Best Of DVDs if he just watches hard enough. Nothing does change.

Still, he stays nervous and he feels like he's about to do something that could simultaneously be the best and the worst thing that he's ever done in his entire life -- and it's tomorrow. He's getting hitched with Steve tomorrow. He's got his clothes hung up over the doorway, he's got a speech in mind for the reception, and he's even doing fairly okay with not having Grace there. He just can't shake the goddamn nerves.

"Shit," he mutters, getting up to get some air, leaving the door open before he returns to the best of the NHL, circa 2008. He's supposed to be calm about this. It's Steve. It's his best friend, it's the guy he's been with for over a year -- almost to the day, even -- and friends with for over a year before that.

Maybe the solution here is some booze, but Danny doesn't want to be that tragic kind of guy who does it all alone.

Comments

[beaugeste]

Some time ago, she can't say exactly when, Marie stopped waiting for somebody to answer the door at their house. She taps on the door to alert Danny to her presence, then lets herself in, curling up on the other corner of the couch. "Nervous?"

[haolehothead]

Danny can't help his grin when he sees Marie. "Right about now, I'm thinking about getting so drunk that I wake up just in time to get hitched. Steve will kill me, but I'm thinking about it anyway," he admits, putting the DVD on pause to talk to her. "And yes, nervous. So sue me, it's my second marriage."

[beaugeste]

"So you should be used to it," Marie teases. "Know how everything works. When to stand up, sit down, say 'I do'...."

[haolehothead]

"I got vows, but my vows are pretty shit. I'm pretty horrible when it comes to being a loudmouth. I mean, I insult Steve more than I compliment him. My vows are going to be pretty terrible," he says. "Maybe I'm just nervous because the first time ended in a pretty heavy crash and burn."

[beaugeste]

"Does it matter if the vows are terrible?" Marie asks honestly, chewing on her nails. "As long as you say them, and he says them, you end up married. Actually, you can probably be married without saying them, I don't think this place has any hard and fast rules. And I think it's safe to say this is miles away from the first time, both literally and metaphorically."

[haolehothead]

"Then we ought to just have a shotgun wedding where Helen taps me on the head, then Steve, and says it's done. It'll be the shortest ceremony ever and we can get to the important stuff." Which would be the drinking and all the food. "Hell, there's no wedding party for a reason. I don't want this complicated."

[beaugeste]

"It's not complicated," Marie says encouragingly. "You go to the beach, say something sappy about the man you love, kiss him, and have a party. And at the end you're married." She taps him lightly on the nose with one finger. "Easy."

[haolehothead]

Danny wrinkles his nose and closes his eyes when it gets tapped, feeling like a kid with his sisters again -- teasing and being teased. "I'm married a second time," he points out. "God, Steve must be going crazy. At least I've done this before."

[beaugeste]

"And you actually are going crazy," Marie teases. "Were you this jittery the first time?"

[haolehothead]

"I was worse," Danny confesses with a scoff. "I had all my friends around me, my family, and my brother kept nudging me and asking if I was really ready to surrender to the Brits," he says with a fond smile. "This time, Mattie's somewhere on the lam, my family's in Jersey, but I got my friends. At least I've got that."

[beaugeste]

She cocks her head, watching him curiously as if she's weighing what to say. "Is it going to change things that much?"

[haolehothead]

"No," he admits, shaking his head. "No, it's not going to change anything except maybe my name. Steve's going to be a pain in the ass, I'm going to have husbandly duties, and maybe we talk about kids down the line since it's something we've both talked about."

[beaugeste]

She grins at him. "Mm. Danny Williams-McGarrett? It's a mouthful. Really," she adds, a little more seriously, "I can't imagine you not having kids, if you had the chance. But I suppose with such a small population, you have to get lucky."

[haolehothead]

"Other way, but yeah. Danny McGarrett-Williams," he says, holding out a hand as if in introduction. "As for the kid part, I try not to think about it. Mostly because you're right. It's damn near impossible with the small population we've got here."

[beaugeste]

"Enchante," Marie teases, taking his hand and shaking it, almost playfully, before leaning against him comfortably. "You'll get lucky eventually. And in the meantime, you can babysit for me, but you can't take it home!"

[haolehothead]

Danny knows that she's trying to make him feel better, but the truth is that he's not in the mood for that. Hell, he struggles with Rachel, most days. "Let's just not talk about that now, okay?" he asks, quiet and more serious than he typically is.

[beaugeste]

"Of course, cher." The one thing she absolutely doesn't want to do is make Danny sad. "Anyway, I interrupted you watching your game, I don't mind if you want to put it back on."

[haolehothead]

"You watch hockey?" Danny asks, a bit surprised and hopeful. Sure, it's nice to have some games to watch when he gets distracted, but it never really holds up to watching with friends. "I've got all the best of?"

[beaugeste]

"I haven't," Marie admits, "and I don't have the faintest idea how it works, but I'm a pretty quick study, when I want to be. Or you could explain it."

[haolehothead]

"Well, the best part about hockey is the fights," Danny says, his finger on the remote control as he skips ahead to the featurette that gives him such great joy -- at least, in watching guys pummel the crap out of other men. "It's really what hockey's all about, deep down."

[beaugeste]

"Ooh," Marie laughs. "Watching athletic men wrestle around and hit each other? I never realised hockey would be that promising, or I'd have started watching it before."

[haolehothead]

"Well, they're still wearing a lot of equipment, so I realize it probably doesn't attract to you on a primal level, or whatever the hell you want to call it," Danny says, gesturing around him broadly. "But, hey, it's not so bad, right?"